RIP Ronnie James Dio (confirmed)

[SPNKr]

Suffice to say, I was shocked too hear this today.    I know all of us have "Musical landmarks" in our lives.  I've had 3.... #2 was when I was in the Navy in '81 and bought Rainbows "Live on Stage" on vinyl.  From that point on, music took on a whole new direction for me.  The sheer power...intensity...and passion which illustrated Ronnie's vocals were astounding.  I haven't felt like this since the day I heard John Bonham died.

I just popped in the Rainbow Munich '77 DVD.  Next will be Heaven and Hell's DVD...... after that we'll play it by ear.

Today you Caught the Rainbow Ronnie.... thank you for the decades of sharing your musical soul with me brother.

Kind words

[aurorablind]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDItgSfVZ7g

This was filmed under a year ago. At the age of 66 the man had a voice, a stage presence, a carisma and a kindness to him most metal musicians only can dream of.
He gave us over 40 years of fantastic music that will never be forgotten.
Rock in peace grandfather of metal 

[Arcaeus]

Glad I got to see the legend live before he passed. RIP.

[Adami]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDItgSfVZ7g

[Mladen]

Rest in peace, Ronnie.

You were a true legend.

This is the saddest day in the history of metal.

[wolfking]

I am still in absolute shock about this.  Heavy metal will never ever be the same, it has lost an important piece of its puzzle, that it will never get back. 

I read this this morning and needless to say, my day at work was not productive at all.  I was dazed and numb, with my eyes welting up numerous times.  As I sit here now and listen to tracks like Die Young and Heaven and Hell, I remember back about 12 years ago when I discovered Heaven and Hell and the meaning of heavy metal.  The man's voice hooked me and has never let me go.  I still feel exactly the same as I did as a teenager discovering this amazing music.

His whole discography was from the gods and it simply isn't fair that he has been taken from us already.  He will forever be an immortal.  I can never look at heavy metal the same.  Heavy metal in a way, is dead.

NP:  Lonely is the Word

[Zydar]

Listening to some classic Rainbow now, Man On The Silver Mountain 

[SPNKr]

I am still in absolute shock about this.  Heavy metal will never ever be the same, it has lost an important piece of its puzzle, that it will never get back. 

I read this this morning and needless to say, my day at work was not productive at all.  I was dazed and numb, with my eyes welting up numerous times.  As I sit here now and listen to tracks like Die Young and Heaven and Hell, I remember back about 12 years ago when I discovered Heaven and Hell and the meaning of heavy metal.  The man's voice hooked me and has never let me go.  I still feel exactly the same as I did as a teenager discovering this amazing music.

His whole discography was from the gods and it simply isn't fair that he has been taken from us already.  He will forever be an immortal.  I can never look at heavy metal the same.  Heavy metal in a way, is dead.

NP:  Lonely is the Word

Great post. And that song is just wonderful. I had that album on earlier tonight and I thought there was gonna be more, so I put on Mob Rules immediately.

[wolfking]

I am still in absolute shock about this.  Heavy metal will never ever be the same, it has lost an important piece of its puzzle, that it will never get back. 

I read this this morning and needless to say, my day at work was not productive at all.  I was dazed and numb, with my eyes welting up numerous times.  As I sit here now and listen to tracks like Die Young and Heaven and Hell, I remember back about 12 years ago when I discovered Heaven and Hell and the meaning of heavy metal.  The man's voice hooked me and has never let me go.  I still feel exactly the same as I did as a teenager discovering this amazing music.

His whole discography was from the gods and it simply isn't fair that he has been taken from us already.  He will forever be an immortal.  I can never look at heavy metal the same.  Heavy metal in a way, is dead.

NP:  Lonely is the Word

Great post. And that song is just wonderful. I had that album on earlier tonight and I thought there was gonna be more, so I put on Mob Rules immediately.

Thanks mate.  The magic from these two albums is unmatched.  It just makes me sad.  It's shocking.  Such a gracious, kind, respectful human being did not need to be taken like this.  It makes me sick with the amount of scum that walk the earth forever, what has happened to this great man just makes me ill.

At least Dio knew how much of a legacy he left.  Until his last day he had his head held high and died with so much dignity.  Life just isn't fair. 

Dio has died for our sins.

[SPNKr]

I am still in absolute shock about this.  Heavy metal will never ever be the same, it has lost an important piece of its puzzle, that it will never get back. 

I read this this morning and needless to say, my day at work was not productive at all.  I was dazed and numb, with my eyes welting up numerous times.  As I sit here now and listen to tracks like Die Young and Heaven and Hell, I remember back about 12 years ago when I discovered Heaven and Hell and the meaning of heavy metal.  The man's voice hooked me and has never let me go.  I still feel exactly the same as I did as a teenager discovering this amazing music.

His whole discography was from the gods and it simply isn't fair that he has been taken from us already.  He will forever be an immortal.  I can never look at heavy metal the same.  Heavy metal in a way, is dead.

NP:  Lonely is the Word

Great post. And that song is just wonderful. I had that album on earlier tonight and I thought there was gonna be more, so I put on Mob Rules immediately.

Thanks mate.  The magic from these two albums is unmatched.  It just makes me sad.  It's shocking.  Such a gracious, kind, respectful human being did not need to be taken like this.  It makes me sick with the amount of scum that walk the earth forever, what has happened to this great man just makes me ill.

At least Dio knew how much of a legacy he left.  Until his last day he had his head held high and died with so much dignity.  Life just isn't fair. 

Dio has died for our sins.

I wish I had paid attention to more of his music, I was gonna get the rest of the Rainbow stuff he was on but I got carried away with other music. I only have the debut. So far I got Holy Diver and it's great! I didn't expect this sort of sound and approach to metal. Dehumanizer is still awesome, have had that for a while
I wonder what Iommi is going to do without Dio, I really would like him to continue and my best wishes go out to Tony's Dio-less future as well .

[TAC]

Crimson Sunrise, I'm with you on On Stage, especially Catch The Rainbow..a phenomenal performance.

Dio is on 3 of my Top 25 albums...Heaven & Hell, On Stage, and Holy Diver.

The thing that I will always remember about Dio is the sincerety with which he addressed an audience. All bands say stuff like "it's great to be here" and all that, but with Dio, you always felt the genuineness in his words.

One of my favorite tracks here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj3mKYASycg&feature=PlayList&p=43B0B84C9680679C&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=19

[The Curious Orange]

Shit. Going to have to go home tonight and listen to "Rainbow Rising" waaaay too loud.

[LudwigVan]

RIP DIO.  Maybe the purest heavy metal voice ever.  So many imititators that could never do him justice.

[Zook]

If Heaven & Hell wanted to continue, they could get Ripper Owens. I'm serious.

[Dublagent66]

Saw Heaven & Hell in concert 2 years ago with Megadeth.  Had pit passes and what a show!  Had no idea he was sick.  Rock on RJD     

[El Barto]

I saw H&H 4 or 5 times and DIO countless times.  It's been disappointing watching his voice go slowly over the years.  He always sounded great, but it was hard not to notice the years catching up with him if you'd seen him 25 years ago.  The last time I saw him was with Priest and Motörhead last year, and was the best the man's sounded since 1985.  The guy was truly born again hard.  I'm pretty happy it worked out that way, since from my standpoint, the last memory I have was him belting out Children of the Sea and Sign of the Southern Cross like it was 1982 again. 

[TAC]

Yeah, he went out on top. The Devil You Know was easily his best performance since Lock Up The Wolves.

[LudwigVan]

I saw H+H at the Theater at MSG last year and was floored by the power and finesse in his voice.  Hard to believe that was only just a year ago. 

[bodiesinflight]

Very sad.
RIP Ronnie!

[emindead]

If you want to leave your condolences on his Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/OfficialRonnieJamesDio

And this is from 'That Metal Show' showing how AWESOME Dio was in life:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM-tIhONY4k

[TAC]

Thanks ED! He was the BEST!

Maybe Bosk can come up with a Dio emoticon!

[bosk1]

If anyone comes up with a good one.  I did a quick search for dragons, but didn't find anything cool.  If anyone else finds anything good, let me know.

[hefdaddy42]

TBH, I never really cared for any of Dio's music, whether on his own or with the other bands with whom he has been associated.  But by everything I've ever read about him, and interviews I've seen with him, he was always very humble and well-spoken, and always came across as a genuinely good guy.  Also, his impact on the world of metal cannot be overestimated, whether or not I liked it.

RIP

[Dublagent66]

We already have an emoticon that salutes Ronnie James Dio quite well.   

[Dr. DTVT]

We already have an emoticon that salutes Ronnie James Dio quite well.   

I was just about to post the same thing.  Maybe just the horns could be :dio

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

[El Barto]

We already have an emoticon that salutes Ronnie James Dio quite well.   

I was just about to post the same thing.  Maybe just the horns could be :dio

Dio was never a headbanger.  Plus, you need the horns on both sides.  And if you really want to get it right, the arms need to be bent.

[jasc15]

Although I've never owned any of his material, and have only a cursory knowledge of his musical contributions, I have seen him on several metal documentaries and countless interviews, and thought him to be the most perfect ambassador to metal.  His universal acceptance by all metal fans and musicians (can't think of another individual who reaches that level) speaks for itself.  I always enjoyed hearing his sentiments on music, and his ever positive and mild mannered attitude always brought legitimacy to metal that I feel 'outsiders' would receive well.  A true loss to music, and to metal in particular.

[CrimsonSunrise]

Crimson Sunrise, I'm with you on On Stage, especially Catch The Rainbow..a phenomenal performance.

Dio is on 3 of my Top 25 albums...Heaven & Hell, On Stage, and Holy Diver.

The thing that I will always remember about Dio is the sincerety with which he addressed an audience. All bands say stuff like "it's great to be here" and all that, but with Dio, you always felt the genuineness in his words.

One of my favorite tracks here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj3mKYASycg&feature=PlayList&p=43B0B84C9680679C&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=19

I agree Tac... That version of Catch the Rainbow is so ....soul wrenching.  Add to that the sheer power of Mistreated and Still I'm Sad...man......just phenominal.  I loved what all the folks (musicians) were saying about him on blabbermouth.  Obviously he was the Ambassador of Metal, hard...yet eloquent and mild mannered at heart.

[Dublagent66]

We already have an emoticon that salutes Ronnie James Dio quite well.   

I was just about to post the same thing.  Maybe just the horns could be :dio

Dio was never a headbanger.  Plus, you need the horns on both sides.  And if you really want to get it right, the arms need to be bent.

It's the thought that counts.  We're not nitpickers here.

[Mladen]

Yeah, he went out on top. The Devil You Know was easily his best performance since Lock Up The Wolves.

He was incredible on Lock up the wolves, I think that album had his best performance EVER. Although he rules on every release he's ever sung on, even the Elf works. 

[El Barto]

Lock Up the Wolves is a vastly underrated album.  It's a shame he didn't continue with Rowan Robertson, but since he left to do the fantastic De-Humanizer, I guess it worked out for the best.  It's just too bad that after that, he moved on with Tracy G.  Lock was great and Magica was great, but the two albums in between were crap. 

[El JoNNo]

_++_______________________________
_+88________________________________
_+880_______________________________
_++88______________________________
_++88______________________________
__+880_________________________++__
__+888________________________+88__
__++880______________________+88___
__++888_____+++88__________+++___
__++8888__+++8880++88____+++88___
__+++8888+++8880++8888__++888____
___++888++8888+++888888++888_____
___++88++8888++8888888++888______
___++++++888888888888888888_______
____++++++88888888888888888_______
____++++++++000888888888888_______
_____+++++++000088888888888_______
______+++++++00088888888888_______
_______+++++++088888888888________
_______+++++++088888888888________
________+++++++8888888888_________
________+++++++0088888888_________
________++++++0088888888__________
________+++++0008888888__________

[carl320]

RIP Dio

It's sad to see such a person pass, no matter what the circumstances 

[Jakartabassplayer]

_++_______________________________
_+88________________________________
_+880_______________________________
_++88______________________________
_++88______________________________
__+880_________________________++__
__+888________________________+88__
__++880______________________+88___
__++888_____+++88__________+++___
__++8888__+++8880++88____+++88___
__+++8888+++8880++8888__++888____
___++888++8888+++888888++888_____
___++88++8888++8888888++888______
___++++++888888888888888888_______
____++++++88888888888888888_______
____++++++++000888888888888_______
_____+++++++000088888888888_______
______+++++++00088888888888_______
_______+++++++088888888888________
_______+++++++088888888888________
________+++++++8888888888_________
________+++++++0088888888_________
________++++++0088888888__________
________+++++0008888888__________

Lets all honor him by listening to his music